Monument for the pilots S. Darius and S. Girėnas

The monument is located in the city central square, at the corner of J. Basanavičiaus and V. Kudirkos streets. That is a stone composition, depicting Lituanica, which crashed in the forest. The pilots were commemorated in 1993, during the 60th anniversary of the tragic end of the first Lithuanians flying over the Atlantic Ocean. The monument was designed by architects Marija and Martynas Purviniai.
It is located in one of the most popular places in the city – the city square. The construction of the monument was funded by Jonas Biržiškis, the Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Lithuania and the monument itself was made by sculptors Jonas and Paulius Judišiai. The front of the monument features an inscription: ‘On 15 July 1933, the Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas left New York for Lithuania. After 37 hours of flight and conquering the Atlantic, Lithuania crashed in Soldin forest. The bottom of the monument features a carving of the remains of the plane. The other side of the monument features a bas-relief of the pilots. The monument was built on a higher mound-like pedestal, surrounded by a circle of larger boulders. That was the way the ancient tribes in west Samogitia – the homeland of the pilots – used to honour the dead. The monument with the pedestal is heightened with a cobbled base, which is supposed to remind of the stones in the area and the entire period of Lithuanian history, when city streets and squares used to be paved with stones. The composition of the monument and the entire territory was created by architects Marija and Martynas Purviniai.
The monument was consecrated by Telšiai Bishop Antanas Vaičius and opened by the former (1934-1940) Head of Šilalė Stanislovas Biržiškis.

Compiled in 2018